If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

How long will The Flash be on air?

With season 4 close to wrapping up and a season 5 already set for the fall, I have to ask how long do you think The Flash will be on TV?

I thought about the series duration earlier today when watching an older episode, coupled with the reactions of people who think this current season is less than stellar. I'm betting that the series gets to either 7 or 8 seasons before ending, given the vast number of comic and characters and stories they could just pluck from and do something with. BTW I also wanna include durations for Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning while I'm at it. WB and the CW got 10 years out of Smallville so it's not a stretch, but again I'm thinking they cap it at 7 or 8.

Mods, feel free to move this thread if it doesn't fit with the category.

I doubt any of them will make it to ten seasons. Judging by the ratings that Arrow has gotten this season, next will probably be the last. Furthermore, Stephen Amell is 37. I've seen some interview where he, jokingly, expressed an interest in beating Smallville. But, the truth is, he's 37 and started as OQ when he was 31. Welling started when he was 24. He had a lot more energy when he started. The schedules on these kinds of shows are brutal. There is only so much a person can take, especially as they get older. That is why Murder, She Wrote started doing the bookend episodes in S6. To reduce the workload for Angela Lansbury.

Supergirl might make it to five seasons. Here, it's not simply a question of ratings, but also the lead actress. Looking at her Wikipedia page, she also does movies (and other TV projects) and will be making her Broadway debut this summer. So, she might wanna be doing something else and not be tied down to having to make 20-something Supergirl episodes per year.

I stopped watching The Flash after last season, as I felt the finale worked as a series finale (Barry enters the Speed Force and Wally takes over as the Flash) and I was tired of the repetition. Looking at the ratings for this season, I'd say 1-2 (counting the announced fifth) more seasons (depending on the viewership drop).

Legends of Tomorrow might also survive 1-2 seasons, based on the viewing figures.

Part of the problem with all four shows is a lack of direction and gameplan (where are they going with all of this?). As I noted about the Flash S3 finale, it felt like a series finale, where Barry enters the Speed Force and Wally takes over. It didn't feel like there's more that he needed to do on the show. Some of you might be saying "well, he needs to become a founding member of the Justice League". To which I reply "oh, so they've announced that they'll be doing the Justice League?" The truth is, there is nothing to imply (apart from one S1 easter egg, which doesn't count) that the Arrowverse will be doing the Justice League (which the WB would restrict them from doing anyway). Some of you might also argue "well, he needs to marry Iris and have two kids, so that Bart Allen will one day exist". First off, this is an adaptation (which means to change, to adjust, to make more appropriate). Just because something happened in the comics, doesn't mean that the adaptation will do the same. Not to mention, Barry and Iris were already doing it, so she could've been pregnant already by the end of S3 and then had the kids offscreen.

I was going to say the ratings will be an issue (and truth be told, The Flash's have dropped harder than even Arrow's did during its 4th season), but this is the CW we are talking about. As long as the show gets a demo rating along the lines of 0.4 (it's not there yet, but I bet it will be by this time next year), then it will keep going.

I think it will all come down to how long Grant Gustin's contract is and if he's willing to extend it. Ideally, Berlanti and Helbing would like to get to 10 seasons so that they can tell the story of "Flash vanishes in crisis" and bring the story full circle. And Grant Gustin is certainly young enough to keep playing the character until 2024. But is he willing to? Quite frankly, I think Amell is an easier actor to keep around because at this point, he probably know he can't do much better than the Arrowverse. Grant, on the other hand, still has an opportunity to aim for more high profile roles. He's younger and (IMO) more talented.

So if we assume that Grant Gustin signed a contract similar to Stephen, then season 7 could very well be it for The Flash. It certainly won't get cancelled before that. After that, who knows? The option of continuing the show with Wally West as the lead is something that has been speculated at timed, but I don't know if Berlanti and the network are fans of the idea. Yes, there's a variety of Flashes in the comics, but as far as this show is concerned, Grant's Barry Allen has been the established lead character for far too long.

The option of continuing the show with Wally West as the lead is something that has been speculated at timed, but I don't know if Berlanti and the network are fans of the idea. Yes, there's a variety of Flashes in the comics, but as far as this show is concerned, Grant's Barry Allen has been the established lead character for far too long.

I don't see that as a possibility. Wally has already been introduced and established as Keiynan Lonsdale, who, outside of the show, has his music career and was just in the film Love, Simon. So, such a development (a few years from now) would be dependent on Lonsdales availability and willingless to continue doing the show, should Grant step down.

Speaking of ratings, I looked at The Flash's pattern of viewership ratings and saw them declining, but then I looked at the other multi-season Arrowverse shows and noticed the same thing with viewership going down and realized it's not a unique thing to The Flash or the CW in general, average viewer numbers go down all the time.

There's also this idea that there's a Season 4 Curse at play when it comes to CW shows, people don't like this season and they didn't Season 4 of Arrow either, and both LOT and Supergirl are headed there, so they need to watch out.

But going on contracts and actors, I said 7-8 seasons originally because I can picture a situation where at some point Grant Gustin and the other cast in general may want to start working on other projects and doing other things, or maybe not wanting to be known solely for being the Flash anymore, or in the worst case him or anyone else getting bored with their roles. Also, I was watching one of Caity Lotz's older Instagram videos and she was talking about how other actors on Arrowverse shows may not show up nearly as much because they get famous and get work from other studios and shows and end up committing to them and as a result don't make many appearances anymore, which isn't something the actors nor writers are in control of. Case and point, Victor Garber leaving LOT to work on Broadway.